Nottingham Forest star Cheikhou Kouyate has been named in the BBC Sport Team of the Week by Garth Crooks.
The Reds ended a run of five consecutive defeats by drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa at the City Ground.
Kouyate was handed another start in the middle of the park, with Forest going for a three-man midfield.
He played alongside Ryan Yates and Remo Freuler to help Forest stop the rot against a struggling Villa outfit.
Kouyate checked in at Forest in the summer after leaving Crystal Palace on a free transfer in the summer.
He’s an experienced Premier League performer and that level of expertise could prove vital this season.
Crooks has named a Forest player in the Team of the Week for the first time this season and plumped for Kouyate.
He told BBC Sport: “Kouyate provided much of the energy to keep Forest going against Villa and his performance deserved a mention.
“But, if they’re serious about surviving in the league, they are in desperate need of more quality.”
Kouyate spent four years at Palace having signed from West Ham in 2018.
He spent four years with the Hammers and across spells with the two clubs he made 258 appearances in the Premier League.
Kouyate named in Team of the Week
This is a decent achievement for Kouyate as Forest finally earned some recognition for their battling performance.
The midfield area is one that provides a real conundrum for Cooper.
Last night, Lewis O’Brien only got on for one minute, whilst Orel Mangala was an unused substitute.
On the pitch, fans raved about Ryan Yates and Remo Freuler.
With that in mind, it’s perhaps a little surprising that Kouyate was the midfielder who got the nod from Crooks.
Forest must now continue this level of work rate and hopefully, pick some wins up before the World Cup.
Kouyate looks like quickly becoming a regular in the team.
At 32-years-old it will be interesting to see whether he is capable of playing every week and how much better he gets with more outings.
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